Evasion
by serenitysea
Summary: When Sydney Bristow returns home, she finds out that she cannot dream. So when someone comes to visit her, are they really there? Or is she dreaming? (Mild spoilers, S3)


EVASION  
  
Author's Note: I just got the Alias Season 1 DVD and it's AWESOME! For someone who missed out of most of it, it certainly was an eye opener. With all the Season 3 speculation and spoilers I've read, I just couldn't wait any longer.  
  
Spoilers: Post The Telling, pre-The Two.  
  
I've tried to keep this spoiler-free-but hey, we all know Vaughn's married.  
  
* * *  
  
Her apartment felt cold. Everywhere she looked, blood and images of last night-last night, two years ago, she corrected herself-became superimposed on the walls and furniture. It hurt to breathe. She didn't dare go into the bathroom. If she had to go, she'd get in the car and drive to the convenience store. They probably wondered why she visited so frequently, but she didn't care. She was *not* going in that room ever again.  
  
The thought occurred to her that she could move. By all rights, she should. But she couldn't bring herself to. Two years, killers, married lovers aside, your bed was still your bed. At the end of the day, nothing felt like it, nothing felt better. From the moment her head hit the pillow to the second the alarm went off by her ear, she was out cold.  
  
Because Sydney Bristow didn't have dreams.  
  
When she first realized that, it freaked her out. She thought something was wrong with her. Thought it was some internal defense mechanism, preventing her from realizing what had happened while she'd been "dead."  
  
But no.  
  
She *did not* dream.  
  
She knew this, along with very high-ranking CIA officials, because she'd had them monitor her while she slept. And they'd confirmed what she already knew. Dreamless sleep. Which was, surprisingly more restful than she expected. And, one of the few refuges she had left. When she had initially realized what that meant, she was furious. To know that they had tampered with her, with her body, with her brain-taken something as precious as dreams away from her-she was ready to go hunt down Sloane and kill him personally. No backup necessary.  
  
It was a small comfort that she somehow instinctively knew it was Sloane's doing. Small comfort that her dreamless sleep was one of the few places she felt safe. Almost better off that she couldn't dream of Vaughn and the life they could have had-if he hadn't gotten married.  
  
Then again, she wouldn't be dreaming about Will's body as she'd last seen him-or dwell on the details of Francie's death. Didn't have to think about how hard it was to pull the trigger on a woman who was-essentially-Francie, the roommate and best friend she'd loved for over 10 years.  
  
Finally, having tired herself out enough, she leaned back and prepared to close her eyes. And everything swirled to black.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sydney." A familiar voice. "Sydney, wake up." A hand smoothing back the hair on her forehead.  
  
She knew that hand. She knew that voice. Sydney opened her eyes and saw what her heart already knew.  
  
"Mom?"  
  
Irina Derevko nodded gently, the tiny smile touching her lips as tears threatened to spill over. "It's me, sweetheart."  
  
Her mother moved closer from her seated position, and Sydney met her halfway, going gratefully into her arms. 'This was safe,' she intuitively knew. She could stay here forever, and not have to worry about anything ever again.  
  
But she had to earn it first.  
  
She pulled back and looked into her mother's eyes. "How-?"  
  
Irina shook her head briefly. "It's not important. What matters is that you're alive. You're okay. You can *fight* them."  
  
She did not expound on who *they* were and Sydney did not ask. It wasn't the time.  
  
"What's bothering you?"  
  
Sydney frowned. "Why do you think-"  
  
"-Only because I know you better than you think I do. And you're my daughter. Very much like her father. Something is bothering you," Irina insisted. "If you can't tell me what it is, I understand. I just want to help."  
  
"I can't dream."  
  
Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't ask questions. She spent the next few moments looking her over. "You're not getting enough sleep."  
  
Sydney's eyebrow rose. "Can you blame me?"  
  
Irina took a deep breath and lightly grasped Sydney's upper arms. "You can't avoid it forever."  
  
The change in topic threw her for a moment. Then she realized. "Mom, I am *not* going in that room. I just-first Danny, then Will? I know it was completely psychological, but it still *hurts*."  
  
She smiled sadly, and she once again smoothed back her daughter's hair. "You can't hide much longer, Sydney." Her lips brushed her forehead gently as she pressed something into her hand. "Get some rest."  
  
And things went black again.  
  
* * *  
  
She didn't wake up like someone having a nightmare normally would; sitting straight up, a split-second away from screaming, while trying to get their bearings. Instead, Sydney cracked one eye, then the other, and tried to focus in on the blackish looking blob very close to her face. Slowly pulling back, she blinked a few times and tried to register what she was seeing.  
  
A small round box rested on the center of her nightstand, daring her to open it.  
  
Questions were racing through her mind. How did they get here? She knew the earrings hadn't been sitting there when she went to sleep, it wasn't something she could have missed. Had her mother really been here? Why did she get the strangest feeling she was being watched?  
  
Stealing a glance at the clock, she noted it read exactly 42 minutes since she'd fallen asleep. Time was a very important thing in her life these days and she tracked her personal sleeping habits fastidiously. Mind whirling away, she climbed out of bed and wandered into the kitchen. The digital display was the same as her the clock in her bedroom, and also matched the one shining brightly over the VCR.  
  
There was only one more clock in the house.  
  
Sydney shook her head and headed back to her room, unhesitatingly opening the box.  
  
Nestled inside were the two small earrings her mother left behind. She pulled them out gently and rested them in her hand. A teardrop hit the left one and she closed her eyes defeatedly. "Why didn't you tell me, Mom?" Her fist closed over the pair and she rested her head against the back of the bed. "The truth *hurts*."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that morning, before she went into work, she stood in front of a door in her house. The bathroom door. Taking a deep breath and bracing herself the best she could, she pushed open the door and walked in. Her gaze, despite all efforts, was immediately drawn to the bathtub. She was relieved to find it empty, find that her mind did not put images where they should not be.  
  
There was a rustle of movement behind her. She looked up in the mirror, and saw her mother's face staring back at her. When she turned around, Irina was gone. Had she ever been there in the first place? Was she seeing things now, too?  
  
Sydney shook her head and blindly moved out of the bathroom, her gaze catching on one last thing before she made it out the door.  
  
It wasn't until she was parking her SUV in the CIA underground lot when she realized.  
  
The bathroom clock was one hour slower than the others in her house.  
  
* * *  
  
Dun DUN DUN!!!!!  
  
I have one more plot bunny moving along in my head right now, but I wanted to get this out before the premiere on Sunday. The question is, was Irina really there? Or has Sydney been given the ability to dream again? And will this have any effect on the future and her ability to regain her memories? 


End file.
